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Ng Kang-chung

It appears to be a case of déjà vu for Tony Tsoi Tung-ho.
A decade ago, Tsoi made headlines when he was abruptly sacked as chief operating officer of Commercial Radio shortly after the removal of outspoken talk-show host Albert Cheng King-hon, with whom Tsoi was said to be sympathetic.
Today Tsoi, also known as Tsoi Tong-hoo, finds himself at the heart of another row about press freedom - or lack of it.
On July 26, he shut down the popular pro-democracy web portal House News, which he co-founded two years ago.
All articles on the site were removed, replaced by a notice to the readers issued by Tsoi, who wrote: "I am frightened."
Tsoi has not discussed his decision since. Journalists have tried in vain to reach him and the notice itself offered few clues.
Tsoi cited financial matters and political pressure - which he implicitly suggested was from Beijing. He alleged that many pan-democrats had been followed, investigated and smeared, creating an atmosphere of "white terror" - a term associated with violent suppression of political dissent.
"The most disturbing is that my family is also feeling the pressure. They are worried about me the whole time," he wrote. "When we eat at home, I insist that we do not switch on the television because I do not want to discuss social issues with them. I know they will only worry."
House News contributor Evan Fowler, a long-time friend of Tsoi's, said the reference to his family was unusual.
"Tony is very cautious about what he says. He is not someone who likes to talk much about his family or his family life," he said.
Others asked why a businessman of Tsoi's acumen was unable to find a way to make a site that drew 300,000 users per day in June pay. He reportedly lost up to HK$600,000 per month on it.
"If it was about losing money, a sensible businessman would find ways to generate income, like attracting advertisement, seeking sponsorship, or subscriptions," said Dr Camoes Tam Chi-keung, a veteran journalist and commentator.
Yau Ching-yuen, editor of another online news site, Post 852, added: "Tony is a smart businessman. He is always energetic and has a lot of creative ideas. He knows how to make money."
Born in Hong Kong, Tsoi was educated in Canada, graduating in business administration from the University of Western Ontario in 1986. He worked in investment research, banking and corporate management.
His first dalliance with the media came in 2002 when he was picked by Commercial Radio president Winnie Yu to be the company's chief operating officer. He lasted little over 19 months before what the station called "serious differences of opinion" on the departure of Cheng led to his ousting.
Some believe the key to Tsoi's closure of House News is his main job as CEO and executive director of Varitronix, a leading manufacturer of LCD screens.
While the company is listed and based in Hong Kong, its main manufacturing hub is in Heyuan , Guangdong, and Tsoi, who joined in 2005, frequently travels to the mainland for business.
What's more, its chairman is Tsoi's friend Johnson Ko Chun-shun. Ko is known in business circles as a troubleshooter, often called in by mainland companies to help them list in Hong Kong
"Tsoi is basically a businessman," Tam said. "And Varitronix has huge investment on the mainland. Beijing can easily influence the company by financial means … many businessmen know how to play the game if you want to do business in China."
When Tsoi joined cultural critic Leung Man-tao, former adviser to the Central Policy Unit Lau Sai-leung and columnist Gregory Sung Hon-sang to set up House News, they envisaged it as a local answer to The Huffington Post, covering not just politics but culture and society.
Tsoi went on to raise his political profile last year, when he signed up to be one of 10 core "martyrs" for Occupy Central. The group is threatening to rouse 10,000 volunteers to block streets in the city's business hub if the government fails to deliver an acceptable plan for a democratic chief executive poll in 2017.
In an interview with Taiwanese weekly The Journalist, published on July 1, Tsoi explained that he had been moved by the courage of academic Benny Tai Yiu-ting, who first suggested the Occupy campaign and serves as a co-organiser. "He is a gentleman," said Tsoi, and one willing to "face the consequences" of advocating civil disobedience in the name of democracy.
Tsoi also characterised himself in the interview as a "weekend revolutionary" - one who cares about democracy, but only campaigns for it in his free time.
 

Tony Tsoi
Age: 49
Family: Married with a son
Education: University of Western Ontario
Career: 
	1986-93 Analyst, various
	1996-99 Senior manager, Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings
	1999-2001 Senior manager, CCT Telecom
	2002-04 Chief operating officer, Commercial Radio
	2004-05 Managing director, Universal Holdings
	2005-present Chief executive, Varitronix International
Awards: Young Industrialist Award 2010, Federation of Hong Kong Industries


Pulling out of the news business: Tony Tsoi

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

House News closure was no business as usual

At the time my feelings were that the expected pressure was being applied, and people were waiting out the storm. 

Pro-democracy website House News closes, citing political pressure, low revenue

Screen shot of House News closure statement.

News

Hong Kong

Tony Tsoi's sudden closure of the popular House News echoes a decade-old media freedom row


Tony Tsoi Tung-ho finds himself at the heart of another row about press freedom - or lack of it. On July 26, he shut down the popular pro-democracy web portal House News, which he co-founded two years ago.


Pulling out of the news business: Tony Tsoi

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Tony Tsoi's sudden closure of the popular House News echoes a decade-old media freedom row

Tony Tsoi's sudden closure of the popular House News echoes a decade-old media freedom row